Truth Be Told
by Travon203
Summary: Semi-AU. Sydney and Vaughn are semi-retired spies that meet under different circumstances. They both have skeletons in their closet that will be soon dragged out. Will they let each other in and trust each other with the sad and painful truth? (UPDATE: 3/16/20 I realized I made a mistake on the third chapter so if you read and didn't understand any of it, my apologies! All fixed!)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hi everyone. This is a fanfic about how Sydney and Vaughn may have met in a different but still within the realm of the CIA/SD-6 and the spy world. There isn't a specific timeline since I will probably be using details from all over the place. But it does take place after the Alliance was dismantled. Sydney and Vaughn are both semi-retired from the CIA and neither of them know that the other person is also in the CIA. Francie is dead in this story but there is a small mention of her in this chapter. Sorry for any confusion. Please let me know if you need any clarification.

**PS**: You're not going to see it in this chapter but Sydney is going to refer to Vaughn as 'Vaughn' and not 'Michael'. This is just a pet peeve of mine since we all know him as Vaughn and in the show she calls him Vaughn. Anyways I hope you enjoy.

* * *

When Sydney found out that she was pregnant after Danny's death, it nearly put her over the edge. In this world – _her_ world – she could handle foreign assassins and ticking bombs, but a baby? No way. How was she supposed to take care of a child without the child's father? How could she be a single parent while juggling the career of being a spy and trying to become a teacher? Well she couldn't have, at least not without the help of Will, Francie, and of course her father.

She became a double-agent for the CIA along with her father, bringing down the Alliance, and most of all Sloane. He got away at the last minute, which triggered a global-wide man hunt for him that is still active today. They spent months looking for him, before realizing that he would most likely stay underground for awhile.

After nine months, out came into the world Isabelle Daniela Bristow. Will said that she had Danny's eyes, but the rest was all Syd. She'd agree but every time she saw Isabelle, all she could see was her resemblance to her father. Jack even agreed with Will through his grim smile and deadpan humor. Despite his stone-cold demeanor, he became this doting and caring grandfather who enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter.

She got out of the spy world as quickly as she could, not wanting her daughter to be exposed to same thing she had experienced. On occasion, the CIA would call her in for an analysis report or something any junior officer could do. It was a way to keep her in the loop, courtesy of my father. But mainly, she focused on being a good mom and being a good teacher. Sydney taught at UCLA as an English Literature professor. The pay was good and the hours were flexible, allowing her to pick up Isabelle from daycare at reasonable times.

Without opening her eyes, Sydney could feel the sun's glowing rays casting on her face. She could also hear the giggles coming from below the bed. She turned her head over to see Isabelle, playing with her slippers at the feet of her bed.

"Isabelle, what are you doing, you silly girl?" Sydney said, lifting her onto her bed. The toddler continued to laugh and smile as the sun continued to rise. She looked over at her phone to see that it was only 7 AM. She still had plenty of time before she had to get ready for work.

"Mama, play!" her three year old daughter cried out. She took Sydney's hair and twirled it around her finger. "Hair?"

"Yes, Isabelle. That's my hair." Sydney yawned and stretched her body as far as she could. "Let's go eat, okay baby?"

She sat up from her bed and turned around to put Isabelle on her hips. They walked downstairs into the kitchen that was also connected into the living room. She put Isabelle down and allowed her to roam about. Normally the young child would just plant herself on the mat in the living room and play with her toys while Sydney would make them breakfast. She decided to make herself an omelet with the usual toppings of cheese, tomatoes, spinach and her daughter would have a plain mini omelet. She cut up Isabelle's into little mini pieces so she could eat it by hand.

Afterwards, Sydney and Isabelle got ready to leave, with Isabelle putting on her shoes by herself and Sydney putting on the final touches of her makeup.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?" she asked.

"Ready!" Isabelle shouted out, full of enthusiasm.

* * *

Michael Vaughn was a company man who took his work very seriously. That being said, he was also a full-time parent to James William Vaughn. James was three years old, who always knew how to cheer his father up whenever he was feeling down. He looked every bit like Vaughn; there was no doubt about it. His green eyes were both his and his dad's main feature, with the little boy showing that innocent, earnest look he would give to his dad whenever he wanted something.

"James! Buddy, we've gotta hurry up or we're gonna be late," Vaughn shouted out from his room. He finished tying his tie and putting on his navy-blue blazer. He walked down the hall to find his son playing with his Legos instead of changing out of his pajamas. "James, what did I say about getting ready?"

The boy stared at him with his puppy-dog eyes and innocently smiling at him until Vaughn eventually sighed. "Okay, come on." Vaughn proceeded to change the boy quickly, continuously checking his watch for how much time he had left. He then carried James downstairs, grabbed their bags, and headed straight for the door.

* * *

Sydney had forgotten to take traffic into account after dropping Isabelle off at daycare. She managed to get to campus five minutes before her class started. She was shuffling her papers in her bag while walking along the pathway, not paying attention to her surroundings. By the time she had looked up, she crashed into a man who had his phone in one hand and his briefcase in the other.

"I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going-" Sydney said as she bent down to pick up her papers that were now scattered on the ground.

"No, it was my bad," The man apologized while bending down to help her as well. She met his eye level and took notice of his wide smile as he introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Michael."

Sydney was never one for fairytales, but there was something about him that captivated her. Here he was, his golden-blond hair and fair complexion, not to mention his alluring green eyes. Sydney realized that she had not yet said a word to introduce herself. She gave a slight smile to get past the awkward silence. "I'm Sydney." He handed her back some of the papers. "Thank you. Again, I'm so sorry."

They continued to stare at each other, both trying to memorize each other's features. Sydney then realized that she was going to be late for class. She nodded her head and quickly walked past him before he could say another word.

Vaughn sighed before he walked off to his office. While Vaughn thought that was one of the weirdest encounters he ever had, Sydney was also the first woman in a long time that had made a small part of him feel younger again. Having a son didn't leave him much time to have a social life, especially having just moved to LA from Langley. His semi-retirement from the spy life kept him on edge sometimes so he couldn't very well just go out and party like he used to. But there was something about Sydney's smile that seemed so genuine and caring that it made his heart ache for that type of relationship again.

* * *

**A/N:** I hoped you guys enjoyed this! Please give me feedback! Also let me know if there's any confusion.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Sorry for the late update but things have been busy. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please review and give me feedback!

* * *

Sydney drove home, anxious to see her daughter after teaching four classes worth of English. She opened the door and put her bag down while hanging her jacket on the hook in the foyer. She heard some feet shufflling from the room next door before high-pitched 'Mama' echoed down the hallway.

Isabelle ran into her mother's arms and planted a big kiss on Sydney, "Mama, I miss you!"

Sydney smiled, "I missed you too, sweetheart." She then saw her father appeared into the hallway. "How was she?"

"She was a peach," Jack said. He gave her a glance towards the manila folder in his hand.

"Mama, play!"

"Okay, I will. Let me talk to Grandpa Jack first," Sydney said putting Isabelle down and watching her run along back to her toys.

They walked towards her kitchen where she grabbed a water from the fridge. Jack sat down at the kitchen island and opened the file. "I wanted to inform you of our recent report that Sloane may be in Zurich."

"Is there any word on what's he doing there?"

"Intel suggests that he's aligned himself with a new group called the Covenant. Have you ever heard that name before?"

Sydney shook her head.

"After the Cold War ended, a number of Russian nationalistic from the KGB came together, determined to discover Rambaldi's endgame. They've spent about the last decade, trying to find Rambaldi's artifacts."

"Why haven't we heard of them until now?" Sydney asked.

Sydney, this is may be far worse than anything we've ever gone up against. They rely on discretion and kill anyone who gets too close to them. I believe that Sloane's commitment to them brought them out of hiding as they now have a face to their organization."

"So what's the plan now? Wait for Sloane and the Covenant make the first move?"

"Precisely. For all we know, Zurich could be a trap from them. Anyways, I should get going," He said looking at his watch.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for dinner?"

"No, I've taken enough of your time with Isabelle."

"Dad, come on. You're her grandfather."

"Sydney, times like these are the one you need to cherish more. When you were a child, one of my regrets as a father was that" he paused. "that I didn't spend more time with you."

She offered him a smile and walked with him to the door, "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Have a good evening, sweetheart."

After she closed the door, she walked into the living room to see Isabelle playing with one of stuffed animals while talking gibberish to it.

"Okay Isabelle. What do you say we head out to the park for a little bit before dinner?" Sydney kneeled down and put her hand on her daughter's head, running through her scalp.

Isabelle clapped her hands, "Yay! Pak! Pak!"

Sydney put a pink sun hat on top of Isabelle's head and tucked the small strap underneath her chin. She then grabbed the sunglasses out of her purse and put it on while opening the front door. She grabbed Isabelle's hand and walked down to the park down the street.

As soon as they reached the park playground, Isabelle let go of her mother's hand and ran towards the play structure. Sydney parked herself on the bench where she could maintain a full visual of Isabelle at all times. Even though she knew that no one was out to get her, Sydney still couldn't kick the old habit. Having to always look over your shoulder. It was no way to live, but she couldn't live her life to the fullest knowing that Sloane was still out there, now partners with the Covenant.

* * *

"Twice in one day? If I didn't know better, I'd say you were following me," she heard from behind her, causing her to turn around quickly to see that it was the man who bumped into/helped her this morning. She watched him take a seat on the other side of the bench.

"I think it's the other way around," she said, smiling. "Which one's yours?"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

She tilted his head back, "Well you wouldn't go to a children's park if you didn't have a kid. Unless you know..."

Vaughn put up his hands in defense, "Whoa. You've got it all wrong. My son is right over there near the slides. Geez, jump to conclusions much?"

She looked over to where he was pointing to see a little blond boy about to slide down. She looked down in embarrassment. "Sorry. As a mother, you gotta be careful. Like you said, twice in one day."

"I know what you mean. You can never be too careful." He smiled at her, before clearing his throat. "So which one is yours? I've already showed you mines."

Sydney let out a small laugh, "She's also near the slides. The one with the sunhat."

Vaughn looked over to see the little girl also having a great time going down the slides. "I guess both of our kids like the slides."

"I didn't take you for a parent."

"That's funny. I didn't take you for one either."

* * *

After another twenty minutes of small talk, Vaughn had found out that Sydney was a professor of English literature at UCLA. He decided to not let her know that he also worked there, wanting to later use this to his advantage. He learned more about her in those twenty minutes than he ever did with his ex-wife in the three years they were married. He couldn't explain it, but he could feel the tension in his shoulders leave as he sat there, listening to Sydney talk about her daily routine with Isabelle. He would occasionally chime in a "Yeah, same here". Before he knew it, the little girl he saw earlier jumped into her mother's arms.

"Mama!" the little girl shouted.

Sydney smiled, pulling her up onto her lap. "Did you have fun?" Isabelle nodded. Sydney then turned towards Vaugh, "Isabelle, say hi to Vaughn."

"Hello, Isabelle. Nice to meet you," he said, offering his finger to her, which she examined closely, wondering who exactly was this person before speaking in gibberish that neither Sydney or Vaughn understood. "What a beautiful name."

"Thank you."

Vaughn then looked at his watch, which he'd forgotten had stopped working this morning. He asked Sydney, "Do you have the time?"

Sydney glanced at her watch, "A quarter to five."

"Thanks. I have to get going. It's almost time for dinner." Vaughn stood up, called out his son's name and waving him over. The little boy ran to his dad, laughing and giggling. "Hey buddy, we gotta go home. But first, let's say hi to someone." He took James over to the bench where Sydney and Isabelle were sitting. "James, say hi to Sydney and Isabelle."

"Hi" the little boy said shakily, hiding behind his father's legs.

"Hi, James. Do you want a cookie?" Sydney asked, pulling one of the container and handing it to Isabelle. The little boy poked his head out at the mention of food and nodded. She looked to Vaughn for permission.

"Sure," Vaughn said. "James, what do you say?"

"Tank you," James said, already accepting the cookie in his hand.

The four of them sat in relative silence, with both parents trying to study the other's kid. Vaughn noticed Isabelle was almost the spitting image of daughter, down to the nose and smile. At first glance, James bared a similar resemblance to his father, especially with those green eyes. Sydney found it hard not to get lost in Vaughn's eyes. There was something about it; it gave her a sense of comfort. She shook away those thoughts, believing now was not the time to start a relationship. Maybe not ever.

Sydney then stood up, putting on her purse while setting Isabelle down. "We should get going. Dinner's not going to cook itself."

Vaughn immediately stood up as well, "Umm yes, us too. We should do this again."

Sydney smiled at him again before telling Isabelle to say goodbye to Vaughn and James. As they were walking around, she could still feel his eyes watching them leave.

* * *

Vaughn ordered a pizza for dinner, deciding that he didn't want to eat He cracked open a beer and gave James his cup of milk. They ate in silence at first before James piped up.

"Daddy, pizza good!" the little boy said, with marinara sauce all over his mouth. Vaughn grabbed a napkin to wipe him before they continued eating.

"I know. But don't eat with your mouth full."

"Okay," the little boy continued to munch on his pizza.

"So what did you think about Sydney and Isabelle today?" Vaughn decided to bring it up, only to get a feel of how his son would react if he started dating again. There were still nights James woke up crying for his mom. He was still learning on how to be a single parent, but it was difficult juggling everything all by himself. It felt like every little choice he made would solely affect James. Often times he wanted to just pack a bag and leave. To go anywhere and do anything. If he could, he would go back to Langley again. He missed the thrill sometimes. But it wasn't the most parental thing to do, especially when he had a three-year-old depending on him to come home every night and read him a bedtime story.

James attempted to pronounce their names, but came up short with "Syd" and "Iz".

"Yes, Sydney and Isabelle. Remember, you met them at the park earlier?" His son still looked at him quizzically, obviously unsure of what his father was talking about. Vaughn sighed. "Oh well, you might see them again soon. I hope."

His phone rang loudly, bringing him out of his trance. He walked over to the counter and picked it up. "Vaughn."

"Hey, it's me," the man on the other line said. "Guess what? I'm being transferred!"

"What?" Vaughn said in shock. "Why?"

"I requested a transfer to LA."

"Weiss, don't tell me you did this because of me."

"Wow, Vaughn. You've only been there how many weeks? Looks like LA has made you self-centered."

"Come on, you know what I mean. What's going on?"

"I wanted to tell you when I got there, but I guess there's no point in waiting. Vaughn, there's been activity."

"Where?"

"Last known sighting was in Zurich."

"When?"

"A few days ago."

"Regardless, this doesn't explain why you're moving to LA."

"Because I'm going to be in a task force, working on dismantling them. I'd just figured the sooner we end this, the better."

"Oh."

"You alright?"

"I'm fine. James will be happy to see his Uncle Eric again."

"Me too. Listen I gotta go. I'll talk to you soon."

"Eric?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks."

Vaughn put down the phone and turned around to see his son taking the final bites of his pizza. In that moment, he made a promise to himself. That he would protect his son from all threats, including his ex-wife.

* * *

**A/N**: Yep, Weiss is now in the picture! I hope yall enjoyed this chapter. Please review. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Hey everyone, I realized that there was a mistake when I was uploading the chapter. So if you've read this chapter before and it didn't make sense at all, my apologies! I realize it's been month since I've updated this story but I promise I will try to hold myself more accountable.

* * *

Sydney would not see Vaughn again until days later. Despite having met him twice in one day, she did not know much about him. She had noticed the slight ring indentation on his finger, which meant that he was recently married and now divorced. Besides that, her curiosity continued to peak. Sydney wanted to see him again, but didn't even know how. Luckily, her prayers were answered when there was a knock on the door of her office.

"Come in," she said as she was quickly trying to pack up her things to go pick up Isabelle from daycare. Whoever it was that walked in continued to stand in silence, watching her move around in frantic. She then looked up from her things before shock overcame her. "Vaughn? What are you doing here?" she asked, blushing.

"Well, you didn't leave me any contact info. But then I remember that you told me you worked here. After asking around and a couple of missed turns, I found your office." He took a step towards her desk, closing the space with only the desk in between them.

Sydney tucked her hair behind her ear, "I didn't think you were actually listening."

"Of course I did. How could I not?." He then noticed that she was getting ready to leave. "Where are you off to?"

"I have to go pick up Isabelle from daycare."

"I'll walk you to your car," he offered, looking for ways to continue getting to know her. She smiled and nodded in response. They walked together side by side towards the staff parking lot.

"So what are your plans for the weekend?" he asked.

"Not much. Isabelle and I usually go out for dinner on Friday nights and then go from there. I was going to get tickets for the Kings tonight, but things have been so crazy with midterms coming up that I forgot all about it."

Vaughn's eyes grew wide when she mentioned the Kings, "You like hockey? The Kings?"

Sydney saw his amused look, "I guess not as much as you. I didn't know you like hockey."

"Of course I do! A buddy of mine works at the rink and reserves an hour of the space for me and James to play every weekend."

"Wow. Yeah, it was something Isabelle's father liked to watch after 36-hour shifts at the hospital," she said dejectedly at the mere mention of Danny.

"We should go next time."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Syd-" Vaughn was then interrupted when one of the faculty members called out his name and caught up to him and Sydney.

"Just wanted to let you know about next week's department meeting," the older gentleman said in his thickest German accent possible, catching his breath.

"Thanks, I got the memo about it earlier," Vaughn said. He could only imagine the look on Sydney's face, as his back was to her.

The other man walked to his car and Vaughn turned around and noticed her reaction.

"Department meeting?" She asked, smiling.

Vaughn smiled in embarrassment, "You know how department meetings are for people who work in that department? Well, I'm in that department."

"Which department?"

"The foreign language department."

Sydney gently slapped his chest, "Vaughn! You teach here? Why didn't you tell me?"

Vaughn laughed, "I wanted to surprise you. Clearly, that didn't work out too well."

"But before Professor Weber so kindly interrupted me, I wanted to ask you if you would like to go out to dinner with us tonight. You and Isabelle, of course."

"I don't know, Vaughn." she said in hesitation.

"Why not? Come on. Our kids know each other, albeit briefly. We could get to know each other too." his eyes pleading with hers.

Sydney thought for a moment before ultimately deciding yes.

"I'll pick you up at 5:30?"

"Sure."

Vaughn displayed his smile as wide as he could, saying goodbye to her and walking to his car. Sydney shook her head in response to his excitement. In truth, she was a little bit nervous. While this would not be classified as a date, she wanted to keep her expectations low. Here she was - going to dinner with a man and both of their children together. A man that she knew almost next to nothing about.

* * *

Sydney had spent the past hour, changing into multiple outfits before deciding on a pair of skinny jeans and a white T-shirt layered with a cardigan on top. She stood in her bathroom, applying the last touch of makeup so she could still look "natural". Sydney walked back into her room, picking Isabelle up out of her playpen she had set up in the corner of the room.

"Alright, sweetheart. Let's get you changed," Sydney said. They both agreed on a white flowery shirt and blue pants to go with it.

Sydney was running around the hallways, packing everything she and Isabelle would need on their non-date into the diaper bag. She heard the doorbell rang and looked at her watch. He sure was punctual, she thought.

"Coming!" she shouted down the stairs. She carried Isabelle down the stairs, practically leaping from it in order to not keep Vaughn waiting. Yet when she opened the door, it was not the man she was expecting.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" she asked, hiding her disappointment that it was not Vaughn.

"Sorry, I should have called first. Are you heading out?" he asked after seeing his daughter and granddaughter dressed.

"Yeah, we were about to leave. But what's up?" she asked.

"We've recently discovered that the Prime Minister of China is holding a party at his private residence. Apparently, he has an artifact of Rambaldi that he'll trade with Sloane in exchange for private pictures. Essentially, blackmail."

"And I assume you want me to go."

"Yes."

"When?"

"Tomorrow night."

"Dad!" Sydney said. "I can't just... I haven't had much time... Dad..."

"Sydney, I'll watch Isabelle while you're gone and take care of everything. Don't worry."

Sydney sighed before she nodded, "Okay."

Jack then turned towards the door, kissing his granddaughter goodbye. "I have to go back to the office. We have some transfers coming in. I'll see you tomorrow night."

Sydney watched the door close and looked at Isabelle and kissed her forehead, "I'm sorry, sweetie. I promise it won't always be like this."

* * *

Vaughn had decided that a picnic was a rather better option than having two kids stuck in a restaurant when instead they could be running around in the park. He took them to this lake his dad used to take. him when he was a kid. It wasn't too far from where they lived.

He set the picnic basket on top of the blanket while watching James and Isabelle run around the grassy area. He motioned Sydney to sit down as he unpacked the basket.

"For the kids, chicken nuggets with a side of soft baby carrots. And for the adults, two turkey sandwiches and chips with a nice bottle of Bordeaux," he presented to her.

"Wow, Vaughn. This is fancy," she joked.

"Sorry, I know it's kind of cheesy. But I didn't know where we could go where we could all have a good time."

"No, I like cheesy. This is wonderful. Thank you, Vaughn."

The four of them sat on the blanket, eating their food while watching the sunset. After an hour of running around, the kids fell asleep on their parents' lap. Vaughn watched Sydney caressed Isabelle's hair as she lightly snoozed on her mother's lap.

"I had a good time today, Vaughn. This place is amazing."

"It's been awhile since I've been here. After I moved to Virginia, I guess I kind of forgot this place. Coming back here now brings back so many memories with my father."

"I'm sorry, Vaughn."

"Don't be. I think he would have been happy to see me here. Me and James here together. And with you and Isabelle."

Sydney blushed at that last part, "I think we should get going."

The two of them stood up with each child in their arms. Vaughn bent down to pick up the blanket and basket while trying not to jostle James.

The drive to Sydney's house was quiet as neither of them didn't want to wake up the kids but they also did not know what to say to each other. After ten minutes, they were in front of her house. Vaughn stepped out of the car and rounded to her side.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?" he asked.

"Yeah, okay," she whispered, holding Isabelle in her arms. "Speaking of which, I'm going to be out of town soon. Day after tomorrow."

"Oh, where are you going?"

"China. It's an international conference for English professors," she said, saddened by the fact that she had to lie to someone else again.

"Okay, we'll talk more tomorrow," Vaughn said.

* * *

Vaughn carried James into the house as quiet as he could, hearing the TV from the next room. He walked in the living room to see Weiss on the couch, watching a football game while eating popcorn.

"Hey, man. How was your date?" Weiss asked. When he didn't hear a response, he turned around to see James in his arms. "Oh sorry." He then turned down the TV volume.

"It was fine. Let me go put him to bed first," Vaughn said. He walked up the stairs and into James' bedroom. He gently put the boy down and covered him with a blanket. He made sure James was fine before leaving the door slightly ajar.

Vaughn came back into the living room with a dark T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He sat next to Weiss on the couch. "So how was the first day?"

"Fine... Met the senior field agent. He's very... stiff," Weiss said, finding it difficult to explain the man. "After a couple of meetings, we were caught up to speed with everything."

"And..." Vaughn added.

"And there's nothing to report. Except an op tomorrow in China."

"China?" Vaughn asked. Sydney was going to China, he thought. He hoped she wasn't going to be anywhere near where this operation was happening.

"Yeah, a trade between the Prime Minister and Sloane. Why?"

"No reason."


End file.
